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Friday, May 20, 2016

Day 165: Promservation

Tonight is the senior prom. I am not attending, but since I teach juniors and seniors, many of my students are. They were required to come to school for periods 1-4 or they would not be allowed to go. Near the end of 4th period, students attending the prom were dismissed from school to get ready.

This means that I had more students in periods 1-4 than I have had in months.

It also means that I had 2 kids in 6th period.

There were, however, two things of note in classes with students.

We finished watching Interstellar and had some pretty great conversation about space stations, centripetal force, gravity generation and free fall. It was an excellent reason to show the following two videos.

The kids were highly engaged, asking tons of questions about these videos were shot and what it would be like to be inside one those space stations, or on the zero-gravity airplane.

In one class, this sent us down the rabbit hole of OK Go videos (all of which are amazing!)

During all of this, I was observed by one of our administrators.

I know that many teachers dread, fear or openly deride observations. It's easy to feel concerned when you don't trust those who are doing the observing.

I, however, welcome observations. I love having people visit my room and have had many teachers do so over the years.

I know that I have a ton to learn and I know that I can't do it without people watching my practice. Often, the observer and the observed have different goals in mind. In order to ensure that my questions are answered, I constructed a brief survey for classroom observers, whether they be administrator, other teachers, parents or guests.

Observer Survey

Thank you for being a part of my growth journey as an
educator. I very much appreciate you
taking the time to observe my educational practice and provide me with
actionable feedback that will help me to become a better educator for my
students, my school and my community.

This year, I have been focusing on building a safe and
welcoming community in my classroom where all students are able to have a voice
and feel accepted. In order to further
these goals, it would be very helpful to me if you would briefly answer the
following questions.

Thank you again for your time.

-Justin Aion

1) What was the general mood of the students as they entered
the room?

2) Did I appear to encourage questions from, and dialogue with,
my students?

3) What was one teacher/student interaction that you found
particularly positive?

4) What was one teacher/student interaction that you thought
could use improvement?

5) What could have been done differently in that interaction
to better foster a sense of community of learning?

6) What was the general mood of the students as they exited
the room?

The administrator who came in had many other classrooms to cover today, so I think it's unreasonable to expect an immediate response, but I'm looking forward to the feedback. Even with only 15 days left, there is always time to grow.

There is always next year and the year after that. The actionable feedback that I receive today could help my students for years to come.

If you have not done so, please take a few minutes to fill out this survey. I would greatly appreciate it